Is imported cat food more expensive than gold? Revealing the truth behind the huge profits

Ms. Li, who was swiping her phone late at night, was suddenly awakened by a pet food recall notice - the imported cat food that her cat loved most was on the list. This is already the third similar incident this year. The safety issue of imported pet food is becoming a hidden concern for tens of millions of pet - keeping families. When overseas brands enter the Chinese market through layers of agents, who is actually safeguarding the food safety of our furry friends?

When Mr. Zhang tried to act as an agent for a certain Nordic brand last year, his goods were detained at the customs for a full 47 days. "Just the import registration certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture requires preparing 12 items of materials," he said with a bitter smile, showing the 3.2G declaration documents on his phone. Currently, for legal imports, one needs to break through:

• The overseas factory is registered with the General Administration of Customs of China
• The product obtains an import registration certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
• Each batch is accompanied by an origin inspection report

An expert from Zhongshitong Supply Chain revealed that nearly 30% of import applications are returned due to translation errors or differences in testing standards.

An imported can that costs 300 yuan on the shelf may have an ex - factory price of less than 50 yuan. The hidden costs in between include:

• Thermostatic warehousing during international transportation (the temperature needs to be maintained at 15 - 25℃ throughout the process)
• Compliance modification of Chinese labels (the ingredient list needs to be sorted according to Chinese regulations)
• Commission of cross - border e - commerce platforms (commonly up to 20% of the transaction amount)

An agent revealed that a certain New Zealand brand, due to insisting on air - freight of fresh meat ingredients, has a final retail price 4.8 times that of its local price.

A can that shows "genuine" when scanned with a QR code may be a recycled package refilled. Currently, anti - counterfeiting technologies have evolved to the third generation:

• The first generation: Laser anti - counterfeiting labels (cracked in 2016)
• The second generation: Blockchain traceability systems (used by some brands)
• The third generation: Nanoscale packaging DNA markers (introduced by Zhongshitong in 2023)

It is worth noting that the list of officially authorized agents can be queried in real - time on the website of the General Administration of Customs, which is the most reliable verification channel.

When the post - 00s generation starts celebrating birthdays for their pets, personalized imports have become a new trend. Some agents offer:

• Exclusive pet food plans matched with pet DNA
• Monthly subscription - based fresh food delivery
• Allergen screening + direct ordering from overseas factories

As a senior practitioner said, "The competition for the next - generation imported pet food will no longer be about competing for supply sources, but about competing for the response speed of the service chain."

After reading this, will you still casually place an order for imported pet food at a purchasing store? Welcome to share your purchasing experience in the comment section, or leave a message to tell us the imported food knowledge you most want to know. Click the "Follow" button in the upper - right corner. Next week, we will reveal how to use customs codes to reverse - query the authenticity of products.